1 Thing We're Talking About: Independent repair shop consolidation coming soon?

CollisionRight, a consolidator of automotive shops in the central U.S. and mid-Atlantic regions, is poised to expand after an infusion of money from a private equity firm.

CEO Rich Harrison said the majority investment by Summit Partners will help CollisionRight "accelerate consolidation" of independent U.S. collision repair shops that compete with dealership body shops, according to a news release. Terms of the investment were not disclosed.

Since its founding in 2020, CollisionRight has acquired 89 collision repair shops, making it one of the leading consolidators and providers of collision repair services in the country. It has shops in nine states — Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and West Virginia.

"We want to continue to grow the business," Harrison said in the release. "Our differentiation is around our brand strategy. We retain the local brands that we acquire because we think there's value in that and we also have a fairly disciplined approach to our geographic footprint."

CollisionRight, in Dublin, Ohio, fixes more than 90,000 cars per year and maintains over 100 direct repair programs with insurance carriers.

"The collision repair industry remains highly fragmented, large and, in our view, very attractive," Robert Grady, a Summit Partners advisory partner, said in the release. "We look forward to working closely with the CollisionRight team to capitalize on this opportunity and enhance the Company's position as a growing, high-quality, customer-focused company."